Like all collectibles, the sports memorabilia market has its own terms and slang. The following is a brief definition and explanation of the most frequently used sports collecting terms.
Note:This is a work in progress and we would love to hear your comments and suggestions. Send your thoughts to [email protected].
|A grading term that describes the wearing and separating of the layers of cardboard stock on the corners of the card.|
|Well known for its production of its modern day sets, Leaf is also well known for several sets produced right after World War II. In 1948 and 1949, they produced crude sets of baseball, football, and boxing stars. Over time, these issues have become very popular, especially tough-to-find, high-grade examples.|
|A series of games that are played to determine the champion of a league.|
|A poster-like print that is produced by using a special, high-quality printing process.|
|The meaning of “lot” is two-fold in the sports collectibles market. The first meaning simply describes a group of cards. One might say, “I have a lot of 100 Ken Griffey cards.” The other meaning is short for “auction lot.” Bidders in an auction bid by lot numbers, rather than by the name of the item that they desire.|
|Low series or low number cards are from the first series distributed for a set in a given year. Production and distribution of these cards was generally greater as they were the first run of cards available to the public for that baseball season. However, there are exceptions. For instance, the 1933 Goudey low series or low numbers are worth considerably more than their higher numbered counterparts.|